What you should know before traveling to Tuscany
TechnologyYour first glimpse of any of Tuscany’s hill towns will take your breath away. You may have seen images of these stunning locations in movies and books. But nothing can prepare you for the real thing.
Once you experience this otherworldly field of abundance for yourself, you will fully understand why even the smallest of these towns have been the subject of continual strife throughout history. Who wouldn’t want to own the top of one of these hills, overlooking brilliant landscapes, covered in vineyards that produce bountiful harvests for the finest wines? Who wouldn’t be inspired to paint or sculpt or roam the hills in search of precious stones to make exquisite jewelry?
If you have decided to travel to Tuscany, you have made an excellent choice. But there are three essential points that you will need to understand before embarking on your travels.
Point #1: Provide each destination with at least one full day or three or five
For a wonderful trip to Tuscany, plan to include five destinations, one large, one medium, and three small. florence, Of course, it is absolute necessity as your great destiny. Your trip to Tuscany would not be complete without a visit to Florence. Few cities compare to Florence in terms of breathtaking beauty, as well as abundant and impressive experiences. With its art and sculpture, gardens and architecture, history and culture, crafts, wine and food, Florence will captivate you. Your time will run. And you’ll probably decide that you just have to come back for another year.
Since Florence is the biggest destination on your itinerary, plan to spend 5 days here. But then take day trips from Florence by train to two of their other destinations: the small but fascinating towns of cortona Y san gimignano. Add an additional five days to your trip and split them between the two remaining destinations, Montepulciano Y sienna. So, your ideal trip will be 10 days in total.
And what a journey it will be. You will have the time and freedom to really immerse yourself and enjoy this wonderful region. Places to see. Art to read. Food and wine, savored at outdoor tables, overlooking the lively and spacious squares. Craft shops. local exuberance. Landscapes to inspire you. And the considerable fun of moving between these towns and cities, the journey being as much a part of the delight as the arrival.
Speaking of having time and latitude… This immediately brings us to…
Point #2: Avoid group tours and have a better experience on your own
This trip to Tuscany will be rich in experiences. And it may seem that it will be a complex trip to organize and carry out on your own. So you may be tempted to take the easy route of signing up for a bus tour. Yes, the descriptions of these tours always sound appealing. And it sounds like it would be a lot easier to switch your ride controls and let someone else be in charge.
If your thinking leans in this direction, think again. Your trip to Tuscany is packed with possibilities, too many to waste trapped on a bus with 30 other people. You’ll want time to savor the experiences of each of these extraordinary towns and cities.
A group tour will move too fast and try to pack too much. It will be too confining, even when you’re crammed into the seats of that bus that was designed for a smaller breed of people than your imposing American husband. You’ll be choreographed to someone else’s taste, with a lot of time wasted waiting for your chatty fellow tourists to get back on the bus. And as he races through a city the tour guide has already seen several hundred times, he’ll be traveling in a noisy heap, past all those intriguing shops and alluring bistros.
This is not what you want for your own long-awaited trip to Tuscany. Instead, you’ll want to move freely, walking and stopping as you like, spending more time here and less time there, depending on whether or not things catch you. Some of your most memorable moments will be your bistro stops, your visits to shops that catch your eye, your pause to gaze at a vista of tranquil hills and valleys, your stroll through a restaurant on the square with a fabulous pianist.
You’ll want the freedom to take your time exploring the leather market in Florence and study the original oils and watercolors of the artists who display their own original work in Piazza Michelangelo.
Sitting at an outdoor table in a restaurant behind the Duomo in Florence, or on the wall facing the Duomo in Siena, you might find yourself caught up in a photographic orgy, taking photo after photo of the intricate marble work, beginning with the complete structure. , then zooming in closer and closer for a sequence of photos that captures the green, pink and white marble inlays or the golden image above the door or the statues looming over you from the eaves.
A group tour, of course, takes care of your needs to get from one place to another. But you’ll be able to handle this just as well, if not better, on your own. When you need a lift, grab one with an Uber or Taxi in town (keep your contact info handy!), combined with trains to take you between towns and cities, and shuttle buses to take you over the hills to the top. Getting around, especially on trains, is part of the fun and adds to your experience as well as your sense of accomplishment.
Speaking of needing a lift once in a while, we’ll move on to…
Item #3: There will be many hills wherever you go
As you know from the term “Hill Towns”, there are very few places in Tuscany that are flat. You will walk and ride up and down and up and down, wherever you go, both within cities and while traveling from one city to another.
For each Hill Town you visit, you’ll need to take a train to get to the bottom of the hill, then a shuttle bus to get to the top. This means that when you leave the train station, in Cortona, San Gimignano, or Montepulciano, you’ll need to turn your attention to buying a bus ticket and taking a ride to the top where the city awaits.
As a general rule, when you are going somewhere in a city or town, plan get onafter go down, every chance you get. In Florence, take a taxi to Michelangelo Square. Ask the driver to drop you even higher, in front of the charming Miniato Abbey, just above the square. From here, every direction you walk will take you down!
After visiting the Abbey, wander to Piazza Michelangelo. While you’re there, if the timing is right, try the terrific lasagna at the restaurant just above the piazza, having lunch at an outdoor table, overlooking Florence.
Then walk a few steps down to browse the art and crafts for sale in the square. Stop often to gaze at the rooftops of Florence over the wall, with the dome of the Duomo towering over its surroundings and the Ponte Vecchio spanning the shimmering thread of the Arno River. From here, go down a little more until you reach the level of the river.
So are you ready for this? Grab a guidebook, make your arrangements, and embark on a travel adventure that will become part of your life story.